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Lowertown COVID-19 Local Impact Report – Week 2, Part 1: March 13-15th, 2020

March 13, 2020 | COVID-19 News

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Nigel Parry/Lowertown.info—Week 2, Part 1: March 13-15th, 2020: Tracking the local impact of the COVID-19 virus in Lowertown, Saint Paul, MN. This report begins one week after the first reported Minnesotan case of COVID-19, by which time the number of detected infected had risen to fourteen. Following the shutdowns of the major sports leagues, large and small museums and galleries in and near Lowertown began announcing closures, the 54-year-old Saint Patrick Day Parade was cancelled, and restaurants, bars, and cafes began sporadically posting information to reassure Coronavirus concerns. Reports of impacts are listed in chronological order, by day.

Friday March 13th, 2020

  • Urban Wok announces on Facebook “additional precautions to guard against the current health situation in our country and city… There are already minimal contact points at Urban Wok. The below measures will further help minimize ‘hot points’ in our restaurant so you can safely enjoy Urban Wok in our store and in your home”. Measures include the removal of water dispensers and reminding people to add hot sauces during the order process. Urban Wok is the fourth of Lowertown’s 25 restaurants, bars, and cafes to have addressed COVID-19 concerns on social media.
  • Springboard for the Arts announces the launch of an “Emergency Relief Fund, so that we can continue to support artists in Minnesota who have lost income due to #Coronavirus/#COVID19.”

  • 10:30am Facebook post by Green Lantern Saint Paul says tonight’s Dance Party will proceed, saying “We’re still on due to being under the 200 person capacity rule.” WCCO reports at 1pm that “Governor urges canceling or postponing events in excess of 250 people.”

  • At 2pm, Union Depot posted on Twitter that the #3YRSOFMVMT market, workout, and meetup event tomorrow has been “postponed until further notice.”

  • In an afternoon press conference, Minnesota governor Tim Walz announced that he has signed an executive order declaring a Peacetime State of Emergency in Minnesota. He strongly urged people to cancel gatherings of 250 or more. Similarly President Trump declared a national emergency.
  • At 5pm, local dog grooming and pet boarding store Dreadlocks for Dingos put out a Facebook post noting that COVID-19 cannot be transmitted through animals, and outlines its hourly and daily disinfecting processes.

  • At 6pm, The Buttered Tin announced on Twitter that it would “temporarily use ‘counter service’ rather than table service in response to recommendations from health officials to practice social distancing”:

  • At 8:10pm, the Minnesota Museum of Modern Art announced it would be closed indefinitely for the safety of the community.

  • Just after 9pm, the Science Museum tweeted that it would be “closing temporarily starting tonight”:

Saturday March 14th, 2020

  • At 10am, The Show Gallery released a statement through its social media channels: “The Show is taking every precaution for the safety and care of all visitors, staff, artists, and general population. We feel it is our responsibility to those around us to temporarily close the gallery starting Saturday, March 14, 2020. This includes all March Co Lab workshops and meetings. Stay healthy everyone and try not to let the panic overtake you. We know it’s hard. We know it’s stressful. Reach out to humanity and/or the universe in other positive ways. We all need it more than ever.”

  • Events still continue on in smaller venues in Lowertown. The Green Lantern went ahead with a dance party last night in its 200-person capacity basement, noting that the venue’s capacity fell below the local authorities’ recommendations to cancel any event of 250 people or more. Today, the Dark Horse is having its weekly bingo and meat raffle.

    The Black Dog posted on Twitter at 10:45am about its show tonight featuring “the ‘Last Minute Quartet’… four music men against the Apocalypse, extending the continuous streak of Saturday Night Jazz at the Black Dog.” It would take an iceberg to sink that decade-plus weekly event. The Dog added a note at the end of the tweet addressing the obvious practicalities of the interesting times that we live in, “We’ll open the doors to the back room to allow ample social distancing.”

    This continues the Dog’s practice from the beginning of the COVID-19 news—of direct engagement with the community. The Dog began on Wednesday, March 11th with a multilingual English/Spanish 10-minute video aimed at its staff, transparently explaining new procedures and how the Black Dog would be taking action. Here it is again:

  • In a sad ‘sign of the times’ beyond the neighborhood, local tourism, venue and business promoters Visit Saint Paul announced they’d be taking a few, with a 12:30pm Twitter post saying, “Sharing the story of Saint Paul is what we do and what we love. We will continue to do so, but we are taking a short break to reflect, breathe and focus on the safety and health of our community and visitors. #MYSAINTPAUL”:

  • The Buttered Tin was back at 1pm to explain their new service options during the Coronavirus crisis, letting patrons know the cafe restaurant could “bring your order to your car at our curbside pick-up spot”:

    Like many other Lowertown businesses which rely on catering as a giant Canadian Redwood tree in their hospitality forest, they took an axe blow the other day when a slew of catering orders were cancelled, as the various events their clients had planned were falling apart in the early big gusts of winds in this coming Minnesota Coronavirus hurricane.

  • Mid afternoon report that the near-Lowertown supermarkets Lunds & Byerlys to the west and the Mississippi Market Coop to the east are just starting to look picked over. Frozen veggies, paper goods, and sanitizing products are gone. The rest is still good but that’s where it’s heading.
  • Between 3pm and 6pm, Kyatchi St. Paul, OCTO fishbar, and the Dark Horse Bar & Eatery posted statements on Facebook explaining how they were dealing with the Coronavirus crisis, joining Saint Dinette, the Buttered Tin, the Black Dog, and Urban Wok. The remaining eighteen Lowertown restaurants, bars, and cafes have yet to comment.

    Kyatchi emphasised how it wants “to provide you with great service and care, and we’re doing our absolute best to ensure the health and safety of everyone in our restaurant, and also those who choose to have our food delivered!… For those needing or choosing to remain at home, we support you and will continue to provide take-out and delivery services as well.”


    Describing the times as “a little scary and uncertain”, OCTO fishbar outlined the various measures it was taking, and concluded by saying “Restaurants and small businesses, especially during these times of uncertainty, depend on your support to survive. If you’re feeling well, we encourage you to come and dine with us! For those of you who don’t feel comfortable dining out, please know that we do offer takeout.”


    The Dark Horse explained the complications of offering full menus in a reality where sick staff may have to stay home. “If you can’t have the menu you wanted, we will happily make it right in any way we can. Forcing hourly workers to make up for an impossible workload due to sick co-workers is cruel, unnecessarily stressful, extremely dangerous in a pandemic, and we just aren’t going to do it to them. Or you.” The restaurant concluded, “We are all going to make many sacrifices during the coming days. We, the management of Dark Horse are fully committed to a safe working environment for our guests and staff. We will not sacrifice the safety of our guests or our employees for any reason. Now or in the future.”

  • At 11pm, Perkelat posted a reminder about delivery on Twitter,”We deliver with Doordash!! If you are staying home. Please let us deliver to you our specialty Coffee drinks and food. Don’t miss out just because you are working from home.”

Sunday March 15th, 2020

  • KARE 11 reports that Minnesota health officials say the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is now 35, including the first three cases of community transmission. Addressing a false sense of security among young people and directly after noting that young people can carry and spread the virus, the Pioneer Press reported that, “Of the 14 new cases announced Sunday in Minnesota, six were in their 20s and two were 31 years old.”
  • KSTP reports that Gov. Tim Walz announced Sunday morning that all Minnesota K-12 public schools will close beginning on Wednesday, March 18 and remain closed through Friday, March 27.
  • At 10:40am, Dreadlocks for Dingos posted a reminder on Facebook to stock up on pet food, “With the uncertainty of how businesses are running and the issues causing many to quarantine themselves, we know that many people are stocking up on necessities. In addition to needing food for yourselves, your animals also may need some backup.”:

  • At 12:30pm, Saint Dinette owner Tim Niver posted on Twitter, saying “we are approaching this situation with the utmost concern for our employees and overall public health…we are accepting this situation as a challenge.” Niver said he would be going live on Instagram at 5pm today “to talk briefly about our plan. it’s important we share our stories and take time to be open to how others might be handling this situation. i want to share my process and gain from knowing yours.”

  • At 2pm, Kyatchi St. Paul posted on Facebook that it “will be open tonight from 5-8pm. Door Dash is an delivery option and carry out for those practicing social distancing.”
  • New music collective Zeitgeist posted on Twitter just after 2pm that “Due to COVID-19 precautions, Zeitgeist’s touring performances of Crocus Hill Ghost Story in Red Wing and Sauk Centre on March 20 & 21 have been cancelled.”

  • Just before 3pm, Lowertown Wine & Spirits posted a notice on social media announcing new opening hours, “Due to concerns relating to the ongoing Coronavirus crisis, we are temporarily reducing our opening hours.” (Mon-Sat now sees a later 1pm opening, otherwise hours are unchanged):

  • At 3pm, Almanac Fish, a seafood retailer in Market House, announced on Facebook that “In response to the current business climate due to COVID-19 Almanac Fish will temporarily close until the situation improves. We are deeply saddened by this decision, and look forward to serving you again, as soon as we are able.”

  • The Pioneer Press reported that “Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Sunday said it’s possible he might order bars and restaurants to close during the coronavirus outbreak.’I have to be candid,’ Walz said Sunday when asked, ‘that may become an option… We are thinking about that.’ The once-unthinkable notion has become a reality in France and is being increasingly discussed in America as cases continue to spread beyond the ability of society to contain it.”
  • At 4:30pm, Springboard for the Arts posted on Twitter, “As #coronavirus/#COVID19 closures rise, #independent #creative workers, #artists & #freelancers are going to be affected. Here are some principles for ethical cancellation to help support people’s livelihoods.”

  • At 5pm, Saint Dinette owner Tim Niver held a live broadcast on Instagram to discuss the COVID-19 crisis and what steps he was taking. In an often emotional broadcast, Niver addressed other restaurant owners, his staff, patrons, and landlords. For the moment, all three of his restaurants including Saint Dinette will be closed, although the Saint Dinette restaurant is expected to resurrect soon with a new simplified menu focused on “burgers and fun food”, and switch to a takeout/delivery model. Link to video to follow.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B9xZhONn-SC/
  • At 5:45pm, Barrel Theory announced that “Beginning Monday we will be open 12-6PM daily for to-go crowler sales only until further notice. Head over to our website for the full write-up about our decision.” The blog post on the Barrel’s website began with “Like all of you, the entire team at Barrel Theory has been closely monitoring the current situation surrounding COVID-19. Last Thursday we instituted several policies in our taproom to ensure a more aggressive cleaning and disinfecting of shared surfaces, among several other changes, to limit the potential risk that our employees and anyone visiting us would be exposed to. Unfortunately, we have come to the conclusion that this simply isn’t enough.” The statement went on to make a strong pro-staff claim, that “All of our employees will continue to be paid for all scheduled hours during this period and we’ll be making up for 100% of our bartenders lost tipped wages.” Read the entire statement from Barrel Theory cofounder and president Todd Tibesar here.

  • At 9pm, the Saint Paul Art Crawl announced the cancellation of the Spring 2020 art crawl, set to take place from April 24th-26th:

    IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT – SPRING 2020 ART CRAWL IS CANCELED
    Based on the latest information from the CDC just announced tonight, it is with sincere regret and heartfelt caution that the St Paul Art Collective has made the hard decision to CANCEL the Saint Paul Art Crawl scheduled for April 24-25-26, 2020. We know this (and many other cancelled events) affect the very livelihood of our members. The safety and well-being of the artists and our community is our utmost concern.

    More information will be on our website soon, but you can still support the artists and our community members in these very difficult times by finding them online, following and sharing their social media, and most importantly reach out and ask to buy their artwork.

    Please take care and follow the guidelines for health and safety as suggested by the CDC and MN Department of Health. We hope to have your understanding and support as we work together during these unprecedented times.

    St Paul Art Collective Board and Planning Committee
    *********************
    CDC recommends that for the next 8 weeks, organizers cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the U.S.



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